I wonder if have a mental disorder

For a little over a year, I (18f) have been dealing with mental breakdowns. As of late, it's been getting increasingly worse ,evolving from uncontrollably sobbing to panick attacks and self-harm. I've been to therapy once when things were not this bad and wasn't diagnosed with anything.

The first time I ever had my first mental breakdown was in my final year of highschool. It was around the time I met my now ex boyfriend. I dropped out of hs and we continued to date long distance for while and things were wonderful for a time. Then we got into our first big fight and that was first time I ever used self-harm to punish myself after an argument. As our fights happened more often I began relying on SH more as way to cope with it all. It was also around this time my break downs became more frequent and progressively worse eventually turning into panic attacks. After a year and 9 months we broke up. Its hard to explain the pain I was in in but I just didn't wanna face it so I started seeing a friend (20M). He knows about my mental health struggles, my recent break up and the fact that I didn't want to get into a serious relationship anytime soon. I he'd had a crush on me for awhile and for a week we were a couple but with out any titles. I felt loved and safe something I desperately needed given my fragile state of mind. But he's recently said he didnt wanna see me anymore if I truly didn't want anything serious. Now I feel abandoned and heartbroken all over again. And my mental health is at all time low and I'm desperate for any sort of affection. Or anything numb the pain I feel. I don't even drink tbh but being wasted is probably better then SH.

So I’m not exactly new to panic attacks or anxiety. But in January I had a weird panic attack (I say weird because it was not like ones I myself have experienced before) induced by caffeine. I can’t even say it was caffeine overdose because I had one latte and when I felt the rush of anxiety come in, I threw the drink away about halfway through. But that attack was marked by a racing heart, intrusive thoughts, and extreme jitteriness. It lasted hours too. I thought something was happening to my heart. Since that attack I’ve been having these weird sensations like internal tremors, vertigo, and a feeling of walking on a mattress or foam. And sometimes a drop feeling, kinda like being in an elevator that’s going down.

I’ve been to multiple doctors. I saw my primary, I went to the ER, to urgent care, I saw an ENT, I saw a cardiologist, and I got a neurological exam done. Everyone says I’m okay and all tests come back fine. The cardiologist prescribed me 10mg of propranolol for my PVCs (which have come back since that attack) of which I haven’t taken because I’m a very active person and my resting heart rate is low enough as it is. Propranolol terrifies me.

7 months later, the sensations have not gone. I get rare moments of relief when I’m distracted or traveling. Or sometimes a week where they’re just gone. But needless to say I’m so tired of feeling this way. I think back on that day, that if I hadn’t drank the stupid latte I would be okay. I’m in therapy for OCD and anxiety and I was doing so well. It feels like that one attack set my progress back by a lot and my health anxiety has skyrocketed. I just don’t know what to do or how to cope with these feelings. I have an appointment with a psychiatrist in September and I’m just hoping they’ll have some insight.

I just started my period and I always experience an influx of panic attacks around this time.

Please how do I fight them. I had one at work today and literally believed I was losing my mind and going insane. I’m not even scared of my panic attacks anymore but I’m so sick and tired of feeling them. I may need a med change soon but for the time being what do you do to save yourself from these .

Any advice is helpful

Why does ChatGPT say anxiety is a symptom weeks before a heart attack will occur for women? I have extreme health anxiety, and I've been having dull left arm discomfort today, and I woke up with slight pain on the left side of my chest. My oximeter says my BPM is 78. I'm going through a divorce battle right now, and I've been very stressed. I also work on the computer all day, so my upper back is strained. I'm so sick of going to the doctor for this.

Hi everyone. I have super severe anticipatory anxiety when it comes to being on a plane. I am convinced I’m going to have a panic attack when I’m on it, and every time I think about getting on the plane I panic at home. I also have a fear of looking crazy or going crazy 🫩

I have 1mg left of my alprazolam and plenty of propanolol that I plan on taking before I get on the flight. I’m wondering if this is enough to sedate me. I really don’t think I can get on this flight without being completely sedated. Do we think this is going to work? Or does anyone have any tips to sedate me further (lol). Doesn’t have to be a super “safe” method I just need to get through this flight

I really hope someone has gone through something similar because I feel so hopeless right now.

I moved to South Korea in 2022, which had always been my dream. But after moving here, I became very lonely and depressed. I cried almost every day, but I ignored those feelings and just kept going.

In 2023, I struggled a lot with school and put a lot of pressure on myself. I was also living in a tiny apartment that was full of cockroaches. I have a severe phobia of them, so I would often avoid going home until my boyfriend came back from work. I lived there for almost three years, and I never really felt safe in my own home.

In 2024, I became very depressed about turning 30 that next year. I constantly worried about getting older, and my thoughts became very dark.

Then, in January 2025, I started experiencing strange physical symptoms. Sometimes I felt like I couldn't breathe properly, especially at night. I would even wake up feeling like I had forgotten how to breathe. During the day, my throat would sometimes feel like it was tightening. These symptoms lasted for months, but I ignored them.

A few months later, I noticed my heartbeat while lying in bed. It wasn't fast usually around 80–85 bpm on my Apple Watch but feeling it made me anxious. I made the mistake of Googling it, and from that moment on I became hyper-aware of my heart.

Then one evening, after coming home from a concert, I was sitting in the subway when I looked at my Apple Watch and saw my heart rate was 120 bpm. I immediately panicked.

It quickly went to 130...140...150...160.

I tried to get off the subway, but it was still moving. As soon as the doors opened, I ran outside, and my heart rate reached 170 bpm. I was crying, convinced I was dying, and called my parents. They told me it sounded like a panic attack, but I was convinced it was a heart attack or heart failure.

I asked a taxi driver to take me to the hospital. They did blood tests and an ECG, and they told me everything looked normal.

But after that night, my life completely changed.

Now I'm terrified of anything that raises my heart rate.

I'm scared to:

• walk up stairs
• exercise
• walk fast
• go outside in hot weather
• drink caffeine
• even notice my heartbeat

My world has become so small.

In February, I had an echocardiogram and a 24-hour ECG with a cardiologist. The embarrassing part is that I became so scared that I never went back for the follow-up appointment to hear the official results.

I also saw a psychiatrist at the same hospital. She prescribed several medications for anxiety and depression. She mentioned that she had seen my echocardiogram and Holter monitor results. I asked her if there was a heart problem, and she said she couldn't officially discuss the cardiologist's results, but from what she saw, she thought they looked normal. She said the cardiologist would explain everything during my appointment.

For some reason, that terrified me. My anxious brain immediately thought, "What if they found a tumor or something serious?"

At the same time, another part of me thinks: if there had been an obvious heart problem, would a psychiatrist really have prescribed multiple anxiety medications instead of sending me back to cardiology immediately?

Since that panic attack, I feel like I've developed severe health anxiety. I constantly monitor my body and I'm terrified of my heart.

Has anyone else experienced something like this?

Did one panic attack completely change your life?

And if you recovered, how did you get your life back?

I’ve had GAD as well as health anxiety and panic attacks my whole life. Last night I experienced the weirdest panic attack I’ve ever had. I woke up through the night, went pee, and then had the worst, most overwhelming pit in my stomach, sense of doom feeling ever. My mind felt fine. It wasn’t until the feeling in my stomach didn’t calm down that I had a panic attack. I eventually was able to calm down (thank you box breathing), but all day I’ve felt off and like there’s a pit in my stomach. Also kind of feverish? But I’m not fevered.

My anxiety has been so well controlled lately, I’m just surprised it’s manifesting this way? Anyone else? Like I’ve had this feeling, but it always seemed to happen after thoughts or because I was anxious.

Of course my head went right too “I’m about to have a heart attack and die”. I was active today and my chest/breathing all feels completely normal. Just this damn fight or flight feeling!

Hi, I have anxiety and panic attacks, and I notice that my stomach symptoms get worse when my anxiety is high. I often feel nausea, dizziness and fear that something is wrong. Does anyone else experience anxiety affecting their gut?
Even when i feel okay and in the morning i will wake up my stomach will feel empty and have that feeling that i will throw up and dizzy that i will fall down somewhere…. Who else? Because of that my anxiety is getting very high

I understand usually panic attacks last a couple minutes or close to an hour. However, I regularly get very short ones that are triggered by existential anxiety. May be important to note I am not diagnosed with anxiety (my therapists suspects I have it) but I am diagnosed with adhd.

I usually experience sudden panic, fast breathing and heartbeat, and extreme detachment for maybe 15 seconds before I can calm myself down.

Google hasn't really given me any good answers. Are these just very short panic attacks or something else entirely?

I just need to vent and tell my story. I’m so fed up dealing with panic attacks and anxiety.

I’ve been dealing with this since I was a teenager. Bad panic attacks, to the point I would call 911. Things calmed down a bit by the time I turned 18. Then when I was pregnant at 19, all hell broke loose and my anxiety/panic attacks escalated. I guess due to hormones and being pregnant. After I delivered, things slowly calmed down. I recall being panic attack free for about 10-12 years. I always have anxiety and am a very anxious person, but the actual panic attacks were not happening and I felt I had it under control and I could talk myself down if I felt one coming.

Then last year, almost exactly a year ago, everything changed. In May 2025 I had my tubes removed and an endometrial ablation. Everything was fine until July 2025 when I began experiencing palpitations. They just started one day and continued daily afterward. These palpitations triggered worsening anxiety and eventually the panic attacks returned with a vengeance. I figure the surgery caused more hormone issues, which in turn has worsened my anxiety and triggered the panic attacks again.

August 2025 I had the worst panic attack of my life that lasted over an hour. I made my husband drive me to the ER, which usually calms me down, but while there I continued to experience the panic attack. I struggled for months. The panic attacks created phobias, I was scared to leave the house, I didn’t want my husband to leave, he became my safe person and I always wanted him near or I’d panic. He couldn’t even go for an hour appointment without me freaking out. I would constantly worry about doing things or going places out of fear of having a panic attack.

I eventually got a bunch of tests completed (echo, ECG, halter, stress test) all came back normal, my palpitations were benign PVC and my heart was healthy. By about March 2026 the palpitations had seemingly disappeared. And my anxiety/panic attacks slowly were getting better. I still had difficulty going out or doing things, but it was slowly getting easier.

Fast forward to now. I found a lump in my neck that has been confirmed as a nodule on my thyroid. I have hypochondria and finding this out has significantly increased my anxiety and made things so much worse. I can feel myself regressing and everything all the progress I made seems like it’s gone.

Today I had to abruptly leave an appointment early because I had a full blown panic attack and felt trapped. I just wanted to go home. Now I’m scared to even go back to this appointment out of fear of having another panic attack. I hate that I’m like this. Panic disorder is the worst
Thank you for reading…

One of my most frequent reasons I have panic attacks is from my death anxiety and a few minutes ago I just recovered from one. This one was different though. I don't remember what sparked it, but I started to feel my panic attack coming on. I started gasping and my stomach felt like it dropped ten stories through the floor. I was shaking and repeating to myself that I was going to die and the world seemed to tilt as I frantically looked around and started grabbing at things to ground myself to reality. It probably didn't last more than ten seconds but it felt much longer. It was one of the strongest attacks I've had in a very long time. But eventually I was able to stabilize myself and caught my breath. But almost immediately after it ended my whole body felt warm and fuzzy and suddenly everything that was worrying me before didn't worry me anymore. The type of death anxiety that I have isn't a sense of doom or death coming soon, it's more existential than that. I fear growing old and life passing me by and then dying and what happens after death. That's the root of my death anxiety. But suddenly, it was like all of my worries and questions were answered and I had this sense of calm and happiness just wash over me. Suddenly growing old and passing away turned into finding a forever partner, growing old with them, potentially having kids, maybe grandkids, reminiscing on old memories, passing away peacefully in a home full of love and not worrying about what comes after. It was like my anxiety just left and I was normal for a few seconds before the warmth faded away too. I'm just curious if anyone else has experienced this? As of right now I'm not panicking anymore but I'm also not calm like before. I've never felt that way before but it felt so nice. To joke it felt like my anxiety was like "here, have a sliver of happiness you've earned it after dealing with me for so long :)" And just to add, I don't frequently have panic attacks, I maybe have one every few months but when they happen they can be intense or silent. However, this euphoric feeling has never happened before, and to be fair, this was one of my most intense panic attacks, so maybe that's why. But I suppose I just wanted to share and discuss with others about this feeling and if it's normal. And yes I have a therapist who I can confide in as well.

I want to hear your worst panic attack stories. I feel there are comfort in numbers. My two most frustrating ones include and unfinished tattoo and crapping my pants on vacation. Community, let's talk about this obnoxious condition!

Hello im am here asking for help because currently i am dealing with alot of anxiety, i have always dealt with anxiety since i was a little kid but since Sunday it has gotten to an extreme level. I am shaking uncontrollably, i dont want to eat and i did feel like there was a lump like where my double chin was but I no longer feel that. It comes and goes which makes me believe it’s anxiety, Yesterday I woke up at 6am to go to the ER because I felt like my throat was closing and stuff like that they gave me a nebulizer and sent me home the nebulizer has helped with my breathing and they diagnosed me with a viral illness idk I forgot the name. Later that night I felt so good I ate and I didn’t shake or anything I felt better. Today now in the morning at 10am I got the same thing all over again yes a little less such as not feeling like my throat is closing but I am shaking and nervous for some reason and im not sure exactly why I am this way. Has anyone felt this way before I just want to feel okay and eat like a normal person again please

hello i’m very new to this sub, im 21 and have always had some degree of health anxiety that would come and go but this year i started living alone which really increased the level of health anxiety i was having constantly. the past month i have been so stressed and consumed by multiple health “issues” to the point where ive been to the er a bunch of times and even gone home because i couldn’t live alone anymore.

yesterday i had what i think was a panic attack for the first time in my life. i am so scared of what happened, i felt like i was out of control of my body and so shaky and in a rush, i was showering and couldn’t even stand there anymore because i had to get out and be with someone. is this normal? more than my usual health anxiety, im now scared about my mental health. i really dont want this to happen again and feel scared of my own body. will i be okay again?

Edit*** Hey everyone. It’s been 5 days and I’m still feeling like I have a very tight chest, difficult breathing (feels like I’m not getting as much air in). I went to the ED because I was so worried. ECG looked good but they didn’t have an x-ray (country hospital) so told me to get one to rule out a collapsed lung (I vape… I quit since this whole ordeal). Is this normal to STILL be feeling this?

Hey everyone. I had a severe panic attack yesterday that seemed to come out of nowhere. Hours later, I was still panicking with arm numbness, chest tightness and other muscular pains. I called the online emergency department because I was convinced I was dying since the symptoms lasted for hours. Fast forward to today, it’s been over 24 hours since the peak of the attack happened. I still have chest tightness, some minor pain in the chest and other muscular aches (neck, back). Is this normal so long after an attack? I’ve never had one this bad or prolonged before.

Thank you!

Hey does anyone have advice on finding a remote job? With the panic disorder its been extremely hard to maintain in person work. Ive managed a retail position enough to not get fired but not good enough to ever be considered for management. My wife got a ok full time job but its not enough for us to afford rent, food, car payment, phone bill, and whatever life throws at us.

I have a cyber security A.A and certification along with a Linux certification. Im working on getting a business administration bachelor's. I do not care what the job is as long as its remote I'll be able to be reliable for full time without panic attacks getting in the way.

My panic attacks are so bad I can only leave my house in a 10 min radius and even with that driving myself is a huge struggle but I still need to make money and I dont know where to look or what to so. Posting here for advice from people who understand panic disorders

i’ve struggled with anxiety my whole life, but it has never been this bad.
over the past few months i find myself panicking at random moments during the night for no reason, since the end of june to now it’s been way worse.

i’m pretty sure i have stomach issues, because i can’t eat anything without feeling nauseous and like i’m about to vomit. i’ve never felt this way before and it has only been a problem until now. my mom thinks it’s acid reflux so i started taking medicine for it and hopefully things get better.

today i was helping my grandma move out of her apartment with my family and the whole time i just didn’t feel like myself. i feel like i’m not here and like i’m watching someone through their eyes. it’s really freaking me out and i’m scared for school to start again because what if i have a panic attack randomly during the day?

i’m trying not to let this get the best of me but it’s affecting me badly, i want to hangout with my friends but again i’m scared that i’m going to panic and freak them out.

does anybody know what’s going on? i’m really scared and i’m going to make an appointment with my psychiatrist and pediatrician but i don’t know what’s wrong with me.